A Question For Vivid Dreamers

Thanks for taking the time to read this.


Throughout my life I've had patches when I can remember my dreams quite clearly and times when I wake up in the morning and can't remember 1 single detail. Most of the time i can only remember little bits of information that don't make any sense. The more i search the harder it is to remember.


So my question is, how do you remember your dreams so well?


is there some secret to it or are there just some people that simply can't remember their dreams.


also is there a reason why I can sometimes remember my dreams clearly?

The way I remember my dreams is to have pen and paper by my bed and write down key parts of my dreams.

My dreams are getting really weird lately. That is because I am taking a stop smoking aid called Chantix. One of the side effects is nightmares.

Do you dream in color? I don't remember ever dreaming in anything but color.

In part of my dream last night I was being tested and and someone put a plastic device on my head and I woke up with a terrible headache. I was also very tired. In my dream I had been running to keep from being caught by the things that were testing me.

Try the pen and paper by your bedside trick. It works for me.

reply to post by iced_blue


Have you tried telling yourself just before you fall asleep, that you will remember everything you dream? For some reason this works for me.

Also, I find that when I wake up in the morning, if I don't rush to get up in a hurry, that I seem to remember dreams more clearly, especially on the days when I don't use an alarm clock.

I have known a few people who swear they never dream, which I think would be awful! I recall dreams where I can remember scents, tastes and even the feeling of fabrics, or grass under my feet.

Maybe you only remember certain dreams that have meaning specifically for you.

Have you tried to keep a dream journal? This is what I used to do before I found that I could tell myself to remember my dreams before drifting off.

Originally posted by dizziedame


Do you dream in color? I don't remember ever dreaming in anything but color.

Yep, every dream i can remember has been i colour

Try the pen and paper by your bedside trick. It works for me.

I started to keep A dream journal last year, but in the first month of using it I only had one dream, which i did write down. I still have the journal so I might start using that again.

thanks for the quick reply.

They say mediating and looking after the health of your pineal gland helps you improve the quality and quantity of your dreams. There are plant-based aids out there, and I'd tell you what it is but I'd just get slapped with a 500 point loss and a warn, courtesy of the FDA.

Originally posted by Blanca Rose

Have you tried telling yourself just before you fall asleep, that you will remember everything you dream? For some reason this works for me.

yep, I've tryed this on many different occasions but it hasn't had any affect.

Also, I find that when I wake up in the morning, if I don't rush to get up in a hurry, that I seem to remember dreams more clearly, especially on the days when I don't use an alarm clock.

Don't worry about that, I'm never in any hurry to get up in the morning. I have to use two alarms in the morning otherwise i wont get up.

I recall dreams where I can remember scents, tastes and even the feeling of fabrics, or grass under my feet.

In my dreams i can't remember feeling different textures or smells but i do usually feel extremely strong emotions.

Maybe you only remember certain dreams that have meaning specifically for you.

I"ve thought about this but most of my dreams that i remember, don't make sense, they jump from place to place and are just all over the place.



[edit on 27-2-2009 by iced_blue]

reply to post by star in a jar


Yer I've heard that meditation helps, but when i meditate I can't often go for more then 5 - 10 minutes.
I can be quite impatient at times


[edit on 27-2-2009 by iced_blue]

dizziedame who do you think is testing you?

Basically what you have to do is write your dream down RIGHT after you wake up, because the memory of it fades very quickly.

Because my short term memory easily skips to my long term memory, I am able to remember my dreams for up to six hours or so, but that is not the case for everyone.

I can remember my dreams vividly if I wake up during one. What bothers me are the ones I only slightly recall. I find that I have little flashbacks all day long of bits and pieces of dreams and I can't put them together. That's what's really irritating is not being able to remember the whole dream.

It's really weird. Sometimes when I get a flash, my first immediate reaction is deja vu, but then my mind goes back and forth from bit of dream, or deja vu and I spend too much time trying to figure out where the bit came from.

I hope that was understandable.

reply to post by iced_blue


Funny, I just posted something that addresses dreams and memory... post

In order to improve your dream recall, you should learn about lucid dreaming.

But, basically, you just need to learn the same awareness skills that is required for meditation. When you go to bed, work on maintaining awareness as you allow other parts of yourself to fall asleep. I know that sounds vague, but just start playing around and you'll get the hang of it. With some concerted effort, you may even be able to witness the transition into the sleep state. But, even if you miss it and succumb to the sleep normally, you'll probably be more lucid while dreaming throughout the night and may even become lucid.

This is the book that I have.

The next morning or during the night you may wake up briefly with fresh memories of what you were just dreaming. Keep a pad and pen next to your bed, or even a small mini-recorder, to record your dream so you don't forget it and the memory is still fresh.

Another thing that can happen sometimes can be quite startling. You may experience sleep paralysis. This is when you wake up mentally in bed, but your body is still asleep. Whenever we fall asleep, our motor functions are switched off to prevent us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves. This function is faulty in people who sleep walk.

This can be frightening, but it's ok if you know ahead of time what it is. You'll probably freak out for a bit and then kind of faint back into sleep and sleep fine the rest of the night. However, if you can relax in it and allow yourself to go back to sleep while aware, then you will be in for a big trip. You'll will feel the paralysis take hold as your motor functions are fully "clamped down" on and you'll probably hear bells and whistles as your hearing is disconnected from external noises (mostly). I've experienced this a few times and it's not easy. I've never fully transitioned. The had part is relaxing and not getting scared of the experience. I haven't tried in years though.

Anyway, once you start recording your dreams, you may want to start interpreting them using a site like dreammoods.com, this can be a very useful tool for analyzing your subconscious.

Originally posted by helloblaine
Basically what you have to do is write your dream down RIGHT after you wake up, because the memory of it fades very quickly.

Because my short term memory easily skips to my long term memory, I am able to remember my dreams for up to six hours or so, but that is not the case for everyone.

nope its not the case for me. I'll try keeping a journal again, see if it helps.

Originally posted by virraszto
I can remember my dreams vividly if I wake up during one. What bothers me are the ones I only slightly recall. I find that I have little flashbacks all day long of bits and pieces of dreams and I can't put them together. That's what's really irritating is not being able to remember the whole dream.

It's really weird. Sometimes when I get a flash, my first immediate reaction is deja vu, but then my mind goes back and forth from bit of dream, or deja vu and I spend too much time trying to figure out where the bit came from.

I hope that was understandable.

Yep it was understandable.

This happens to me to which really annoys me, it's like the closer you get the further away it gets.

Originally posted by TheSingularity


Funny, I just posted something that addresses dreams and memory... post

Didn't notice this I'll give it a read. It should be good.

In order to improve your dream recall, you should learn about lucid dreaming.

But, basically, you just need to learn the same awareness skills that is required for meditation. When you go to bed, work on maintaining awareness as you allow other parts of yourself to fall asleep. I know that sounds vague, but just start playing around and you'll get the hang of it. With some concerted effort, you may even be able to witness the transition into the sleep state. But, even if you miss it and succumb to the sleep normally, you'll probably be more lucid while dreaming throughout the night and may even become lucid.

is there a certain way of doing this because it seems quite complicated?

Keep a pad and pen next to your bed, or even a small mini-recorder, to record your dream so you don't forget it and the memory is still fresh.

Due to the fact that almost every reply has said this I'll definitely start doing that again.

Another thing that can happen sometimes can be quite startling. You may experience sleep paralysis. This is when you wake up mentally in bed, but your body is still asleep. Whenever we fall asleep, our motor functions are switched off to prevent us from acting out our dreams and hurting ourselves. This function is faulty in people who sleep walk.

Thanks for the foreword. I've heard stories about this, it sounds quite frightening.

Anyway, once you start recording your dreams, you may want to start interpreting them using a site like dreammoods.com, this can be a very useful tool for analyzing your subconscious.

I'll go have a look at this site soon. Thanks for such a great reply.



This may sound silly, but is it possibly to continue dreaming during sleep paralysis? I just thought I'd ask because you sound quite experienced on this topic

Thanks for such a great reply.

I have been using Binuaral sounds to help me remember dreams, I have always been the type to forget my dreams, for the past week I have remembered most of my dreams Id say 5 out of 7 that I can go into detail with.

Originally posted by benrl
I have been using Binuaral sounds to help me remember dreams, I have always been the type to forget my dreams, for the past week I have remembered most of my dreams Id say 5 out of 7 that I can go into detail with.

are Binuaral sounds similar to those CD's they sell with ocean sounds and stuff like that on them?

Before i go to bed a tell myself I'm going to wake up and remember my dream, over and over i say this to myself until my mind wanders and I drift into sleep. When I wake up I remember every detail vividly and write them down.

It seems to be much clearer when i do this, and it helps me to go Lucid :p

reply to post by iced_blue


No they are two sounds one for the right ear one for the left, you need to use a headset for it to work, what its supposed to do is induce certain kind of brain activity, defrent freq for what you want to accomplish, they sound nothing like an ocean just a buzzing. The program i am using is on my iphone called binural beats. I have been exp with it and have gotten longer more vivid dreams.

reply to post by benrl


Again I never used to remember my dreams at all.

Originally posted by tylerjamescharles
Before i go to bed a tell myself I'm going to wake up and remember my dream, over and over i say this to myself until my mind wanders and I drift into sleep. When I wake up I remember every detail vividly and write them down.

It seems to be much clearer when i do this, and it helps me to go Lucid :p

oh, that makes more sense, I tried this last year but I must have misunderstood. I was saying it about 10 times then just letting my imagination take over, no wonder it wasn't working.

reply to post by benrl


appshopper.com...

Thats the free app for iphone, try it if you have one, its working for me